Hard-working Roncace Wins Out

Mark Roncace of King`s Academy sounded genuinely excited about being on the same court with Palm Beach Lakes star Greg Summers. Even if it was only for a photo session.

His dad was excited, too. Sort of.

``Great... as long as they don`t have to go one-on-one,`` joked Jon Roncace, who also happens to be the basketball coach at King`s.

Mark wasn`t offended. At 5 feet 10, he would hardly relish the chance to be dunked on by the 6-4 Summers.

Size, leaping ability, intimidation -- they have nothing to do with Roncace being named the Sun-Sentinel`s Class 1A-2A Player of the Year. Nor with the way he led King`s to a 26-4 record.

``At the Class A level, I`m a good athlete,`` said Roncace, a senior guard. ``But by comparison, I`m certainly not a great athlete. I had to be mentally tough and ready to play each game.``

And that he was. Roncace averaged 16.1 points and 4.2 assists this season. Good, but hardly overwhelming numbers.

More important to the Lions were the charges he took, the passes, the defense and the leadership he provided. He averaged 19 points most of the season, but was more than willing to share the scoring load as David Furtado and some younger teammates became more assertive.

As for the imaginable difficulties of coaching a son, Jon Roncace, who`s been at King`s 19 years, said there were none. In fact, just the opposite.

``He`s just such a coachable kid,`` he said. ``He works hard, has a good attitude, does all the things you ask him to do.

``On the court, he has himself under control at all times, physically and emotionally. He keeps his composure and doesn`t overreact to adverse circumstances.``

King`s Academy won 13 of 14 district titles before losing the final to Benjamin this season.

Roncace said he`ll leave with good memories of his playing days at King`s. A three-year starter, he finished his career with 1,251 points and a school- record 92 3-pointers, including 39 this season.

``It seems like just a couple of days ago I was down in junior high and couldn`t wait to play basketball,`` he said. ``Now I`m getting ready to graduate. Time does fly, man. It`s unreal.``

1A-2A PLAYER OF THE YEAR

-- NAME: Mark Roncace, King`s Academy.

-- HEIGHT: 5-10.

-- CLASS: Senior.

-- STATS: 16.1 points, 4.2 assists a game.

CLASS 3A-4A FIRST TEAM

HILTON McCLAIN, Glades Central

-- POSITION: Guard.

-- HEIGHT: 5-10.---- CLASS: Senior.

-- STATISTICS: Averaged 16.3 points, 3.4 assists, 4.0 steals.

-- COMMENT: Cut from the team as a sophomore, McClain became a starter his junior season and led Raiders (19-9) to regional title as a senior. Extremely quick and hard-working, he guided Raiders` offense while disrupting opponents`. ``If you took Hilton away, we`re probably a .500 team,`` coach Flip Peavler said. Has signed basketball scholarship with Palm Beach Community College.

DAVID STEVENS, Cardinal Newman

-- POSITION: Guard.

-- HEIGHT: 6-2.---- CLASS: Senior.

-- STATISTICS: Averaged 23.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists.

-- COMMENT: The county`s best shooter carried most of the load for Newman. Despite facing double-teams, he was county`s 3A-4A scoring leader while making more than 50 percent from the field with 66 3-pointers. A four-year starter, Stevens helped Newman (13-15) win more than expected this season. ``A joy to coach; he did everything I asked of him and more,`` coach Murray Smith said.

SHEDRICK WILSON, Atlantic

-- POSITION: Forward.

-- HEIGHT: 6-1.---- CLASS: Sophomore.

-- STATISTICS: Averaged 16.8 points, 9.9 rebounds.

-- COMMENT: Used strength and leaping ability to make up for the inches and experience he gave away inside against most opponents. He and guard Roskie Jackson were one of best inside-outside combinations in the county and helped surprising Atlantic (18-11) improve steadily into a top team. ``Potentially, he can be one of the better players who ever played here,`` said coach Greg Price.

LEROY FREEMAN, Jupiter

-- POSITION: Center.

-- HEIGHT: 6-4.---- CLASS: Senior.

-- STATISTICS: Averaged 17.1 points, 10.9 rebounds.

-- COMMENT: Combined impressive physique with good technique to become county`s dominant inside player. Helped Warriors (22-9) to their most wins in 23 years before 83-79 loss to Palm Beach Lakes in district final. ``There`s no doubt he was the most improved player in our program the last three years,`` coach Fred Ross said. ``He was the one guy we could not afford to lose at any point.``